Segmental tile structure



Aug. 11, 1925.

w. c. FERGUSON SEGMENTAL TILE STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. -17,1923 I/Vl/EA/fOR 14 6 Far 050/7. .EYW

flTfOE/VEY5 Aug. 11, 1925.

W. Cl FERGUSON SEGMENTAL T ILEi STRUCTURE '2 Sheets-$hoet 2 Filed Jan,17. 1923 NE Y5 INVENTOB v W C F3590 B W Patented Aug. 11, 1925.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM C. FERGUSON, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

SEGMENTAL TILE STRUCTURE.

Application filed January To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. FER- oUsoN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Segmental Tile Structures, of which the following.is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to sewers, conduits.

" made to the place where they are used.

Another object is to provide a tubular structure of the type referred tothat is considerably stronger than the conventional sewer constructed ofsegmental tile.

To this end I have devised a sewer, conduit or other tubular structureconstructed of segmental blocks or tile and load-carrying members orreinforcing members combined in such a way that said members eithercarry or assist in carrying the load imposed on the upper portion of thestructure by the earth under which the structure is buried, or reinforcethe structure in such a way that the side portions of same are notliable to collapse or bulge outwardly when the upper portion of thestructure is subjected to excessive loads. Said loadcarrying members orreinforcing members may be of various forms, they can be constructed invarious ways and they can be arranged in the structure or incorporatedin the structure in various ways. Usually, the load-carrying memberswill consist of arched beams or saddles arranged in the upper portion ofthe structure, but they may consist of ring-shaped members that surroundthe structure or segmental-shaped members arranged at the opposite sidesof the structure so as to impart sufficient strength to the slde 17,1923. Serial No. 613,170.

portions of the structure to prevent said side portions from bulgingoutwardly and thus permitting the top portion of the structure tocollapse when said top portion is subjected to an excessive load. Inpractice I prefer to construct the load-carrying members or reinforcingmenibers from reinforced concrete and mold or cast them before they areincorporated in the structure, thereby enabling them to be cast asindependent units at the place where the structure is being built, andthereafter arranged in operative position in the structure during theoperation of laying up the segmental blocks or tile that are used toform the circular wall of the structure, but I do not wish it to beunderstood that my invention is limited to the use of pre-castload-carrying members, as my broad idea contemplates the use ofload-carrying members of any preferred shape or design constructed ofany suitable material and combined in any preferred way with theremainder of the structure. As the functionof said members is toreinforce and strengthen the structure and carry or assist in carryingthe load imposed on the upper portion of the structure, it is essentialthat means be provided for intel-locking or combining said members withthe tile in the structure in such a way that the load imposed on saidtile will be transmitted to and borne by said members, the means that Iprefer to use for this purpose consisting either of projections on saidmembers that are arranged in recesses or openings in the tile with whichthey are combined, or projections on the tile that are arranged inrecesses or openings in said members. If .desired, the load-carryingmembers or reinforcing members may be provided with projections and alsowith recesses that are interlocked with co-operating portions on thetile.

My invention is applicable to a sewer or tubular structure composed ofan inner and an outer series of segmental tile arranged in interlockingrelation, or a sewer or tubular structure composed of a single series ofsegmental tile arranged to form a circular wall. In structures of thekind that comprise an inner and an outer series of segmental tile it ispreferable to arrange the load-carrying members or reinforcing membersin such a way that they are positioned on the outside of the tubularshell formed by the series of inner tile and interposed the outer tilebetween said members in such a way as to form an outer shell composed ofa number of segmental or ring-shaped tile sections that are positionedbetween supporting or reinforcing members which span a portion orportions of the structure or surround the structure, the tile thatcontact with said members being connected with same in such a way thatthe inner shell of the structure, as well as the segmental tilesections, are securely interlocked with said members.

Figure l of the drawings is a perspective View of a portion of a sewer,conduit or other tubular structure constructed in accordance with mypresent invention, in which the load-carrying members consist of archedbeams or saddles in the upper por tion of the structure.

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view, taken longitudinallyof one of the beams or saddles in the upper portion of the structure. 7

Figure 3. is a vertical longitudinal sectional view, taken on the line3-3 of Figure 2. I

Figure at is a detail sectional view, taken on the line d-4; of Figure3, illustrating how the inner tile are interlocked with the outer tile.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3, illustrating my inventionapplied to a tubular structure of the type that comprises a singleseries of segmental blocks or tile.

Figure 6'isa perspective view of, a portion of a tubular structureembodying my invention and provided with ring-shaped members thatsurrounds the structure; and

Figure 7, is a perspective view, illustrating a tubular structureembodying my invention and having-segmental reinforcing members arrangedin the side portions of the structure.

Referring 'to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings which illustrate one formof my invention, A designates a series of segmental blocks or tilearranged to form a circular shell that constitutes the inner lining of asewer, conduit or other structure, B designates a series of segmentalblocks or tile arranged to form a circular shell that constitutes theouter portion of said structure, and C designates a plurality of archedbeams or saddles that are combined with the tile in the upper portion ofthe structure in such a way that they carry or assist in carrying theload imposed on the upper portion of the structure by the earth underwhich the structure is buried. The tile A and B herein shown are oftheftype known commercially as Ferguson segmental tile and'areinterlocked: with each other by longitudinallydisposed ribs 1' on theinner tile A that are positioned in longitudinally-disposed grooves 2 inthe outer tile B and retained in position by cement, mortar or othersuitable plastic material that fills the joints or spaces between saidinner and outer tile and the co-operating interlocking portions of same,the inner tile A being preferably arranged in break-joint relation withthe outer tile B and so disposed that the center groove 2 in each of theouter tile will embrace two ribs 1 on two adjacent inner tile A.

The beams or saddles C preferably consist of segmental-shaped members ofreinforced concrete and they are arranged in the structure in such a waythat they virtually form girders that are supported by the lower portionof the structure, and which, in turn, sustain or assist in sustainingthe tile in the upper portion of the structure. In other words, thestructure as an entirety may be described as consisting of a lowerportion constructed of segmental tile, an upper portion also constructedof segmental tile, and arched beams at the upper side of the structuresupported or carried by the lower portion of the structure and combinedwith said upper portion in such a way that theymaterially assist insupporting the load imposed on said upper portion. The beams C hereinillustrated are of such length that the ends of same terminate near thespring line of the tubular structure of which they form a part, but itis not essential that said beams extend down to the spring line. Theessential thing is that they be of such length that they will serve asgirders or beams at the top side of the structure which either assistsin carrying the load or reinforce and strengthen that portion of thestructure which is most liable to rupture, due to the load imposed onsame by the earth beneath which the structure is buried.

Various means can be used for combining the tile in the upper portion ofthe structure with the beams G and for transmitting the loads imposed onsaid tile to said beams, but I prefer to provide the beams C withlateral projections 3 on the sides of same that project into recesses oropenings in the outer tile B in the upper portion of the structure whoseends butt against said beams and provide said beams on their undersideswith transversely-disposed grooves l that receive the ribs 1 on theinn-er tile A that extend over the undersides of said beams, saidgrooves l being of such cross-sectional shape that the beams can be castor mold-ed as independent units and then lowered into operative positionover the inner tile A after said inner tile have been arranged to formthe top portion of the circular shell that constitutes the inner liningof the structure. It is not essential, however, that the beams be precast and then arranged in operative position in the structure, for ifdesired, the beams can be cast or molded in place. If this method ofbuilding the structure is followed, the tile constituting one transversesection of the structure are laid up in such a way as to leave spaces orchannels between the outer tile, which spaces extend transversely of thestructure across the upper side of same. Thereafter, concrete or thelike is poured into these transverselydisposed channels or spaces so asto form beams or load-carrying members, the con crete flowing into theend portions of the outer tile at the sides of said spaces or channelsso as to securely lock said tile to the load-carrying member.

In building the structure shown in Figure 1 I first lay up the inner andouter tile which constitute the lower portion of one longitudinalsection of the structure, then arrange an arched form in operativeposition above said lower portion, then position the inner tile A thatform the inner lining of the upper portion of the structure on saidform, then set one of the pre-cast beams or saddles C on the lowerportion of the structure in such a way that it spans the segmental shellat the upper side of the structure formed by the said inner tile A, thenposition one or more transverse rows of outer tile B on said inner tileand move said outer tile longitudinally of the structure so as to causethe ends of the outer tile B in proximity to said saddle C to buttagainst said saddle and be interlocked with same by the lateralprojections 3 on the side of the saddle that project into the openingsprovided forsame in said outer t1le, then set another saddle or beam Cin operative position and lay up the next transverse section of theouter shell in a similar way, it being of course understood that cementor some other suitable self-hardening plastic material is arrangedbetween the inner and outer tile and also between the beams C and thetile that bear against same so as to securely bind together the varioustile and beams in the upper portion of the structure. After onetransverse section of the structure has been completed the form isremoved so that it can be used in the operation of laying up the innerand outer tile that constitute the upper portion of the next transversesection of the structure. While I have illustrated the beams or saddlesC as being of such length that they extend down to the spring line ofthe structure, I wish it to be understood that the term lower portion ofthe structure is not limited to the lower half of the structure, andthat the term upper portion of the structure is not limited to the upperhalf of the structure, for if desired, the lower portion of thestructure on which the beams or saddles C are set can be carried up pastthe spring line or the top portion can be carried down past the springline. Nor should it be understood that my invention is limited to astructure in which the beams C are combined with the tile in the upperportion of the structure in the particular manner herein illustrated, asit is immaterial what means is used for transmitting the loads to thebeams from the segmental sections in the upper portion of the strucurethat are interposed between said beams.

In Figure 5 I have illustrated my invention applied to a sewer ortubular structure of the kind that is composed of a single series ofsegmental blocks or tile A arranged to form a circular wall, the tile inthe upper portion of the structure being combined withtransversely-disposed, precast beams or saddles C in any suitable wayand preferably provided with portions 1 that extend over and cover theunderside of said beams.

As previously stated, the load-carrying members or reinforcing membersmay be of ring shape and arranged in the structure in such a way thatthey extend around the structure. Figure 6 illustrates such a structure,the reference character C designating ring-shaped members constructed ofreinforced concrete or any other suitable material and combined withsegmental tile A and B in such a way as to form a tubular structurehaving an inner shell formed by the tile A ring-shaped members 0 thatsurround said shell, and an outer shell formed by tile B that areinterlocked with the inner tile and also with the members C In Figure 6the members C are arranged close enough together to permit one circularring of outer tile B to be interposed between and interlocked with eachpair of members C thereby producing a structure that is strong enough tobe used as a conduit for a flowing liquid that is under pressure, but itis, of course, obvious that the members G can be arranged farther apartand the outer tile B arranged in break-joint relation, as in thestructure shown in Figure 1.

In Figure 7 I have illustrated still another form of my inventionconsisting of a tubular structure composed either of inner and outersegmental tile or a single series of segmental tile A and havingsegmental reinforcing members C constructed of reinforced concrete orany other suitable material arranged in the side portions of thestructure'and interlocked with the tile in the manner previouslydescribed, or in any other suitable way. By reinforcing the sideportions of the structure in this manner said side portions areprevented from bulging outwardly, and thus permitting the top portion tocollapse when said top portion is subjected to an excessive load. Themembers C may be of various lengths and they can. be combined with thetile in various ways.

A tile sewer or tubular structure of the character above described isconsiderably stronger than, the conventional sewer constructed ofsegmental tile on account of the fact that the load imposed on the upperportion of the structure is sustained partly by load-carrying members orreinforcing members builtint-o the structure in such a way that theyform an integral part of the struc ture. My invention not only producesa tile structure that is stronger than the conventional sewerconstructed of segmental tile, but it makes it possible to use lightertile, in the construction of sewers, because the tile in the structuredo not carry the entire load, as in the case of the conventional sewerconstructed of segmental tile. Accordingly, a considerable saving iseffected in the cost of constructing tile sewers, as light tile can bemanufactured at a lower cost than heavy tile and can be transported at alower cost from. the factorywhere the tile are made to the place wherethey are to be used.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new. and desire tosecure by Letters Patent; is:

l. A sewer, conduit or other tubular structure constructed of segmentblocks or tile andprovided with beams or saddles arranged in the upperportion of the structure in such a way that they assist in carrying theload. imposed. on said upper portion.

2. A, tubular structure of the character referred to composed of segmentblocks or tile and provided. in. its upper portion with beamsor saddlesarranged transversely of the structure in spaced relation and combinedwith the tile in said. upper, portion in such a way that they assist insustaining the load imposed; on'said upper portion.

3. A: sewer or tubular structure constructed; of segment blocks or tilearranged to form a circular-wall, and. beams or sade dles carried by thelower. portion; of the structure and. co-mbinedwith the upper por tionof the structure in such away that they assist. in carrying the;loadimposed on said upper: portion.

4:. A sewer or similar, structure provided with a circular wall composedof segment blocks or tile, and transversely-disposed loadrcarrying beamsor girders at the upper side of the structure for reinforcing andstrengthening same.

5. A sewer or similar structure provided with a circular wall composedof segment blocks or tile, and prie-cast, reinforced beams orgirdersarranged transversely of the structure at the upper side of samefor carrying part of the load imposed on the upper portion of thestructure.

(SLA. sewer or similar structure provided with a circular wall composedof segment blocks or tile,- and beams formed by pre-cast, reinforcedmembers arranged transversely in the upper side of the structure forcarrying part of a load imposed on the upper portion of the structure.

7. A. sewer or other tubular structure constructed of se ment blocks ortile and provided at its upper side with trzmsverselydisposed supportingbeams or saddles which are interlocked with the segmental section at thetop side of the structure.

8. A sewer or other tubular structure constructed of segmental blocks ortile, and supporting beams or saddles arranged transversely at the upperside of the structure and provided with means for interlocking them withsome of the tile in the upper portion of the structure.

9. In a sewer or other tubular structure constructed of segmental blocksor tile, transversely-disposed supporting beams or saddles arranged inthe upper part of the structure and interposed between some of the tilein the upper portion of the structure.

10. In a sewer or other tubular structure composed of segmental blocksor tile, supporting beams or saddles in the top part of the structureinterposed between some of the tile in the u wer aortion of thestructure and 7 interlocked with same.

11. A sewer or similar structure, comprising a lower portion,transversely-disposed, arch-shaped beams carried by said lower portionand spanning the same, and an upper portion constructed of segmentalblocks or tile arranged between said beams and combined with same insuch a manner as to cause said beams to carry part of the load imposedon the upper portion of the structure.

12. A sewer or similar structure, compris ing a lower portion,arch-shaped beams or saddles supported by said lower portion andarranged transi 'ersely of same, and an upper portion composed ofsegmental sections constructed of tile or the like that are arrangedbetween said beams and interlocked with same.

13. A sewer or similar structure, comprising a lower portion,transversely-disposed supporting beams orv arches carried by said lowerportion, and an upper portion constructed of segmental blocks or tilesustained by or suspended from said means.

let. A sewer or similar structure composed of an inner and outer seriesof blocks or tile interlocked with each other, and transversely-disposedbeams or arches at the upper side of the structure arranged betweensegmental sections formed by the outer tile and covered on their innersides by said innertile.

15. A sewer or similar structure, comprising an inner and an outer shellconstructed of a series of inner and outer tile arranged in interlockingrelation, and arch-shaped supporting beams or saddles at the upper sideof the structure interposed between segmental sections of the outershell and interlocked with same.

16. A sewer or similar structure comprising an inner and outer shellformed by a series of inner tile and a series of outer tile providedwith co-operating interlocking portions, transversely-disposed,reinforced concrete beams at the upper side of the structure arrangedbetween segmental sections of the outer shell, means for interlockingsaid beams with said segmental sections and means for interlocking saidbeams with the inner shell at the top side of the structure.

17. A sewer, conduit or other tubular structure constructed of segmentalblocks or tile and members that are combined with said tile in such away that they reinforce and strengthen those portions of the structurewhich are most liable to rupture.

18. A tubular structure of the character referred to composed of aninner and outer series of segmental blocks or tile interlocked with eachother, and load-carrying or reinforcing members built into the structurein such a way that they are positioned outside of the inner tile and arearranged intermediate segmental sections formed by the outer tile.

WILLIAM G. FERGUSON.

